Darkness Meets the Light
by Kaylan
Summary: An assassin meets her soulmate and the consequences are tragic.


Title: Darkness Meets The Light (Parts 6/6)  
Author: Sara Dupras  
  
E-Mail: starlit_kit@hotmail.com  
Rating: 15  
Warnings: mild voilence  
Spoilers: NW, soulmate principle  
  
Summary: A young woman meets her soulmate while out on a job.  
However, she finds that not all soulmate stories end in success  
but sometimes in death.   
  
Disclaimers: The Night World and all it's characters and  
principles belong to L.J. Smith. I am merely borrowing the  
soulmate principle to create a story for my characters. No  
infringement is intended. Nor is any money being made from this  
fanfic--sad but true :)   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Prologue   
  
A young man with dark brown hair sat on the grassy patch on  
a small hilltop. His dark brown eyes pooled with unshed tears of  
happiness and sorrow. In his hands was a small picture frame. He  
stared at the picture of his beloved motionlessly. He stayed in  
that pose for hours. A passerby would have thought him a statue.  
  
When he finally did move, it was to place the picture frame  
gently onto the ground. He turned away not being able to bear  
looking at her beautiful face anymore. He couldn't stand to look  
at the young woman with the long brown hair and the soft blue  
eyes any longer. It was a wonder he had been able to do it for  
this long.   
  
Instead he stared at the slowly descending sun. He watched  
the awe-inspiring sight of blood red mixing with violet blue in  
the sky. It hurt to watch this event. It only made him think of  
*her*. She loved to watch the sun setting. It had been one of  
her favorite pastimes.   
  
His humorless laugh cut through the eerie silence like a  
knife through butter. How had it happened? How? But he knew  
how...he had heard all of the various soulmate stories. He knew  
as well as anyone else(better than anyone else, really)how  
meeting your soulmate could change everything. How it could make  
you do things you never really wanted to do.   
  
He shook his head viciously. It didn't matter. He watched  
as the last rays of light faded away for the very last time.  
Soon, he would be with her again. And then everything would be  
all right.   
  
***  
  
Part 1   
  
Shadow watched the building with anticipation. It was  
ordinary in the respect that it looked like any other building  
on this street. Five floors high and red brick. An old and  
deserted factory; just like all the rest marching up and down  
this street. However, this one was very unique on the inside.   
  
Shadow looked over at Black who was standing a couple of  
feet away from her. His body was taut with tension. He was a  
snake just waiting to strike. A very handsome snake. His  
features were a sculptor's dream; with full lips that were made  
to be kissed, and the black hair and eyes that had given him his  
name.   
  
He looked up at her and gave her a disapproving frown. She  
gave an imperceptible nod. He was right; she was supposed to be  
paying attention to the building not her partner. She gave a  
little sigh of relief when he looked back at their target.   
  
They both had a job to do. A *very* important job. They  
were both part of Circle Daybreak's assassin team. The best of  
the best, really. That was partially to be expected, though,  
since they were both vampires. But mostly it was due to the  
relationship the two had forged.   
  
They both trusted eachother explicitly, especially with  
their lives. Hell, in a job like this you had to know that your  
partner would back you up if you got into a spot of trouble.   
  
When they had first met six months ago, each had been a  
little wary of the other. That was only to be expected, really.  
But after their first fray together(where each of them almost  
got killed, and would have been killed if the other hadn't been  
there)they knew that they were and always would be partners.   
  
Shadow was jerked out of her musings when she saw Black  
move. Before she knew what was happening he had rushed past her  
and at the building. She swore at herself as she quickly made to  
follow him. Before she had even gone two steps, however, she was  
grabbed by the upper arm.   
  
She quickly kicked out at her attacker. If she hadn't been  
a vampire with the reflexes that came with being that certain  
species it never would have worked. But it did work, and she  
smiled as she heard the other guy hiss. Now she knew it was a  
male who had ahold of her arm...just by the reaction to that  
very well-placed kick.   
  
While his concentration still wasn't up to par, she  
hurriedly punched in the general direction of his face. It  
worked; now even more off balance than before he toppled over.  
Shadow probed him with a burst of power. She smirked. He was a  
werewolf, of course.   
  
The smirk was wiped off her face when he started to change.  
She was so surprised(although, she shouldn't have been; she knew  
from experience that no matter how hurt someone was, if they  
were determined enough then they'd keep fighting)that she wasted  
the one precious second that she could have done something to  
stop him.   
  
The werewolf lunged at her. She gasped as she was knocked  
to the ground with that loathsome creature on top of her. She  
cried out in pain as he tore at her skin with his claws. She  
grasped his furry wrists and tugged. The sickening sound of two  
shoulders being dislocated could be heard over their scuffling.   
  
Shadow winced as he let out a soul-shattering wail of pain.  
Almost gently, she knocked him off of her. She slowly stood up.  
She watched for a couple of agonizing moments while the werewolf  
twisted on the ground before her. Showing an unusual moment of  
sympathy she knocked him out with a burst of power.   
  
With that done she ran after Black.   
  
***  
  
Part 2   
  
Even though she was running faster than any human could  
ever hope to accomplish, she was breathing easily and not making  
a sound. She felt relief wash over her when she came upon a door  
that lead inside the factory. As she crashed through it, she  
scanned the area around her.   
  
What she saw made her knees weak. Not even a foot away from  
her was Black struggling around on the ground with the vampire  
they had come to kill. This was not what bothered her(she had  
seen Black in this position many times)what bothered her was the  
pool of blood surrounding him on the floor.   
  
She let out a wordless cry of rage and leapt at the  
vampire. Just as she made it to him, he shifted and threw her  
backwards with a strike of his hand. She moaned softly as a  
miscellaneous piece of wood went through her hand, and her head  
made contact with the wooden floor.   
  
Her blood chilled when she heard Black scream. That had  
never, *never* happened before. Shadow jumped to her feet,  
fighting against the dizziness. Tears rolled down her face.   
  
Black was writhing upon the floor in much the same fashion  
as the werewolf had. The other vampire was sitting on top of him  
wearing a victorious smile. In his hand was a stake...a stake  
that was buried in Black's chest.   
  
Shadow watched as Black's body convulsed and then he was  
gone. Vaguely, she realized that the vampire had pulled the  
stake out and was now facing her. She couldn't seem to take her  
eyes away from her dead partner, though. She wasn't totally  
surprised, however, when the other vampire flew at her.   
  
She barely felt the jarring impact through her numbed  
senses. She fought mechanically with the other vampire. "Roman,"  
she thought dazedly. That was his name.   
  
Even though she was fighting like a robot she managed to  
throw him off her. She stood up to face him even as he regained  
his feet. "You bastard," she said with a voice filled with ice.   
  
He made a deep bow. "At your service." His voice was cold  
and arrogant. The perfect combination for evil.   
  
"I came to kill you." She glanced at Black's empty shell.  
When she looked back at Roman she continued, "We both did. But  
now I'll kill you to avenge his death...and all the others  
you've killed."   
  
Roman laughed at her mockingly. The electric lights  
overhead gave an odd sheen to his dark brown hair and dark brown  
eyes. "Oh, little one," he taunted, "if your little friend over  
there couldn't stop me what makes you think you can?"   
  
Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Because," she answered, "now I'm  
not just doing my job...now I'm taking my revenge." Then she  
sprang.   
  
***  
  
Part 3   
  
They both toppled to the floor as she hit straight into  
him. But then something strange and unwelcome happened...the  
soulmate principle.   
  
It started as her hands brushed his as they fell. Then they  
were quite suddenly enveloped in a pink fog. They both fought  
valiantly against it. Alas, they couldn't fight that rare link.   
  
It wasn't long before they were in eachother's minds. And  
reading eachother's thoughts.   
  
"This can't be happening...*you* can't be my soulmate!!"  
Shadow protested through her thoughts.   
  
"Believe me, sweetie," at this she winced at the sarcasm  
dripping venomously from his thought, "you aren't exactly my  
idea of the perfect other half of me."   
  
"You're a killer, for Goddess's sake!"   
  
"And you're a damned Daybreaker!" he threw back at her.   
  
Shadow struggled hysterically to break the link. No matter  
how hard she tried, though, she couldn't seem to do it. She  
could see it. Everything; all the dark and evil things he had  
done. All the women and children, and mere humans he had killed.  
Just for the fun of it. It didn't matter if he was her soulmate;  
he was evil and had to be stopped. Unless...   
  
Roman, too, could see everything in her soul. There was no  
doubt that she had her dark spots too(after all she was an  
assassin) but she also had light in her soul as well. He could  
see her love for life. He could see all her memories of  
beautiful sunsets. He could feel this experience changing  
him...it could barely be felt but it was there...   
  
"That's right," Shadow thought giddily, "you don't have to  
be what you were. That monster that hides in the shadows--"   
  
"I happen to like being that monster that hides in the  
shadows!" Shadow could feel the panic behind the thought. His  
hysteria was growing...   
  
"No, wait, Roman..we could be together if you would just  
change..."   
  
"I don't want to change, Shadow, I *like* being this way!"   
  
She felt her heart break. She could feel the truthfulness  
backing this thought. She knew that they could never be...there  
was only one thing left to do.   
  
***  
  
Part 4   
  
She severed the connection. It was easier this time because  
the link between them had been weakened by Roman's panic and her  
conviction. She knew what had to be done. When they both finally  
came out of it they found that they were kneeling on the floor,  
supporting eachother.   
  
Shadow quickly stepped out of his embrace. Roman backed  
away from her as he stood in one smooth motion. They both  
watched eachother warily. Then she quickly scanned the floor.  
The stake was halfway between the both of them. When she looked  
up she saw that he, too, had seen the weapon.   
  
Before he had a chance to decide what to do she grabbed for  
it. As soon as her fingers touched the wooden stake, she was  
knocked over from behind. She struggled fruitlessly to grab the  
stake and throw him off at the same time.   
  
She was at a strict disadvantage: his weight was pinioning  
her hips to the floor. Besides that the stake had rolled a foot  
away from her when Roman had pushed her to the floor. The only  
good thing was that the stake was also a foot away from him, as  
well.   
  
Shadow soon gave up her struggling. As soon as she did,  
Roman stopped too. They both lay there motionlessly. She was  
surprised to hear him speak. "You could quit Circle Daybreak and  
join the Nightworld Council."   
  
"You could quit the Nightworld Council and join Circle  
Daybreak," she tossed right back at him.   
  
As soon as the words had left her mouth he moved. He lunged  
off of her and right at the stake. However, she had felt his  
shifting before he had actually made his move, and she knocked  
him aside. She cried out triumphantly as she held up the stake  
above her head.   
  
Shadow crawled over to where Roman was laying on the floor,  
stunned. "It's not too late," she whispered, "to change your  
mind." She watched with regret when he shook his head. She held  
up the stake.   
  
Then she brought it down to strike.   
  
***  
  
Epilogue   
  
The young man shook silently as the tears finally  
materialized and ran down his face. His poor, poor Shadow. At  
first he hadn't cared that he had killed her. After all, she had  
meant to kill him.   
  
But then a few mere days afterwards he had felt the most  
incredible pain he had ever felt in his entire life. He knew now  
that it was the pain of his soul breaking. How could he have  
ever believed that he could live without his other half?   
  
Now that painful memory haunted his dreams. He could still  
see it all so clearly....   
  
She had brought the stake down to strike. She was so  
concentrated on this one action that she hadn't felt the tensing  
of his muscles that would have told her what he was about to do.  
  
He had seen the surprise on her face when he had grabbed  
her wrists. In the space of one heartbeat he had her pinned  
underneath him. Without a second thought he had plunged the  
stake into her heart.   
  
Shaking his head, Roman reached over past the picture frame  
(the one he had stolen from her bedroom yesterday)and curled his  
fingers around the very same stake he had used to kill her  
friend and partner Black. And the one he had used to kill her.   
  
He would be with her soon, and then he would no longer feel  
this horrible heart break.   
  
The End.   
  
(c) Sara Dupras (starlit_kit@hotmail.com)   
  



End file.
